The Arsenal vs Manchester United rivalry is one of the biggest in the Premier League era.
Although the teams have played against each other since 1894, the Arsenal vs Manchester United rivalry started to gain relevance in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Be it the fierce sideline enmity between MUFC manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger or the infamous tunnel brawl between Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane, the rivalry and its storylines transcended the football field.
Add to that the fact that between 1996 to 2004 the two teams went toe-to-toe for almost all Premier League titles, with United winning six and the Gunners three during the period.
Arsenal vs Manchester United: Head-to-head record in all competitions
Arsenal and Manchester United met for the first time on October 13, 1894 at Bank Street, Clayton. Since then, both sides have clashed 235 times across all competitions, with the Red Devils winning 100 matches while the Gunners have secured 85 victories. Meanwhile, 50 matches have ended in draws.
Initially, the teams met as Newton Heath and Woolwich Arsenal and clashed 10 times. The latter claimed four wins, three defeats and three draws from 1894 to 1899.
| Matches | Arsenal wins | Manchester United wins | Draws |
| 235 | 85 | 100 | 50 |
Arsenal vs Manchester United: Head-to-head record in Premier League
Since the inception of the Premier League in 1992-93, Arsenal and Manchester United have locked horns on 59 occasions. MUFC have the advantage in the head-to-head with 25 victories while the Gunners have claimed 16 wins. 18 matches have ended in draws.
| Arsenal | Metric | Manchester United |
| 16 | Wins | 25 |
| 25 | Losses | 16 |
| 18 | Draws | 18 |
Arsenal vs Manchester United: Head-to-head record in Cup competitions
Starting with the FA Cup, Arsenal and Manchester United have faced each other 16 times, with Arsenal winning seven meetings while the Red Devils have claimed eight victories.
Similarly, only six matches have been played between the two sides in the League Cup. MUFC have an edge in the head-to-head record with four wins and two defeats.
Arsenal and Manchester United have faced each other only twice in the UEFA Champions League, with Sir Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils winning both matches during the 2008/09 season.
| Competition | Matches played | ARS wins | MUFC wins | Draws |
| FA Cup | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 |
| League Cup | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| European competitions | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Charity / Community Shield | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
Most goals in Arsenal vs Manchester United
English striker Wayne Rooney has scored the most goals in Arsenal vs Manchester United matches. The legendary MUFC forward netted 12 goals in 30 matches across all competitions.
As for Arsenal, Thierry Henry, with nine goals in 23 outings, is the top scorer in the rivalry.
Players who played for both Arsenal and Manchester United
A total of 16 players made the move from Arsenal to Manchester United or vice versa, but only 14 could earn playing time for both the English giants in their respective careers. The list is as follows:
From Arsenal to Manchester United
David Herd, Ian Ure, George Graham, Frank Stapleton, Viv Anderson, Andy Cole, Robin van Persie, Alexis Sánchez
From Manchester United to Arsenal:
Paddy Sloan, Jimmy Rimmer, Brian Kidd, David Platt (never played a senior game for MUFC), Jim Leighton (never played a senior game for Arsenal), Mikaël Silvestre, Danny Welbeck, Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Author: William Paul
Featured photo: AFP / OLI SCARFF
